Jeep Cherokee Love?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Nov 5, 2013
Messages
3,212
Location
Kentucky
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Mechanically, you're not going to wear out one of those.

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
No big deal...mileage on those really doesn't mean much.


When I see comments like these, I have to ask -- can anyone here objectively explain Jeep Cherokee love? This is limited to stock vehicles, not those that have been modified.

If you use it as a daily driver:
Tiny doors limit access, with rear doors even worse
Abysmal rear seat comfort/space
Poor road manners
Saggy seats
Overall small cabin
Limited cargo capacity with spare tire

If you start to work it hard (towing, off-road):
Dana 30/35 combo can't take abuse
Most have no limited slip (and no electronic help), so traction is rather limited
AW4 overheats when pushed

It seems that people just want a Jeep...if there was any other brand name on the vehicle, it wouldn't get nearly the same attention.
 
I loved my XJ 2000. But yes way outdated by today's or even 2001 standards. You have to own one to appreciate one. I believe the XJ was an AMC design Chrysler inherited.
 
Last edited:
Poor road manners i don't agree with, in fact at 70mph + it was surprisingly well mannered.
 
When that platform came out it was really OK..created a niche.

People liked the size and you sat a little higher giving someone transitioning from owning a small sedan to something a little more utilitarian without going fullsize.

If you wanted comfort you drove a big GM car.
Off-roading was nothing like it is today so you didn't need much there but Mom could engage 4wd without getting out to lock the hubs if she needed to,that was a big selling point back then.

For road manners it was about equal unless you were a real performance type.
 
It's fantastic off-road right out of the box. I've driven my grandfather's stock Cherokee down some tough trails with at least 1,000-2,000 miles driven out in the rough dirt roads. It's a tank and has been beaten out there, still has original suspension and rides great. No, it doesn't handle that great, but does anything that's shaped like a toaster with straight axles handle great? Nope. The Dana 30 & 35 handle abuse just fine as long as you don't put 33"+ tires on it and floor it through the boulders. The AW4 is one silky smooth shifting transmission and very reliable, my grandfather's has a factory tranny cooler so I doubt it overheating would be an issue.

It also is decent on gas, the 4.0L has loads of power but isn't a rocketship, and it gets 21.8 mpg with the trunk area full and with 5 people in it.

What more is there to ask for? Is it something I want to hop in and drive across the country? No, but it's a fantastic vehicle to run around town and take out off-roading.
 
I towed+offroad/offroaded in the 100 degree and 10 degree weather and had 0 issues with the d30/d35 combo. Stock handling was just as good as any suv on the road. It took me places I could barely walk through with ease so someone needs to donate a sock for the nay-sayers mouth. The seats are the most comfortable I have ever been in, well the S-class Mercedes comes close.

I can't comment on the AW4 personally, but everyone I know with one had 0 issues. And the spare tire is replaced by OBA setup (a 33" tire fits better on the roof) and I fit an impressive amount of stuff with the seats down. Se cabin space is not spacious, yes. but it is more cozy, especially when you are being thrown around the cab off road.
 
I swear there was an AMC spy in Chrysler in the late 70s.Cherokee development started in 1976,K car design 1977,yet when the K came out in 81 and the Cherokee in 84 they were almost the spitting image in wagon form.Same body character lines and same inset rear side windows.Being a "truck" the Cherokee has a higher roofline and bulkier/boxier sections but they both seem like they came from the same design studio.
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Mechanically, you're not going to wear out one of those.

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
No big deal...mileage on those really doesn't mean much.


When I see comments like these, I have to ask -- can anyone here objectively explain Jeep Cherokee love? This is limited to stock vehicles, not those that have been modified.

If you use it as a daily driver:
Tiny doors limit access, with rear doors even worse
Abysmal rear seat comfort/space
Poor road manners
Saggy seats
Overall small cabin
Limited cargo capacity with spare tire

If you start to work it hard (towing, off-road):
Dana 30/35 combo can't take abuse
Most have no limited slip (and no electronic help), so traction is rather limited
AW4 overheats when pushed

It seems that people just want a Jeep...if there was any other brand name on the vehicle, it wouldn't get nearly the same attention.


Remember that you are talkng about a vehicle designed and built in the early 80s, and that there were no major changes in the vehicle up to its last year in 2002. The same negatives you quoted hold true for most vehicles of that vintage, compared to new cars today.

That the Cherokee had an 18-year model run is really a tribute to how ground breaking it was.
 
i thought 95% of them had the corporate 8.25 in the rear? excellent rear axle! at least the 99 i owned for 10 years did. one of the most reliable vehicles i owned.
 
OP said, "Tiny doors limit access, with rear doors even worse".

People were smaller back then.

Seriously, it was just its size. Trying to get into a Honda Pilot was difficult too. Probably lotsa others. Kira
 
Most of the Chrysler built Cherokees have the 8.25. Much better than the 35. The high pinion Dana 30 in the 99 and older Cherokee is quite strong ... the Dana 30 low pi ion got all of them a bad rap because people modify the Jeep (wrangler), put 4.88 gears in, turn the steering against the lock and dump the clutch from the redline in 1st gear 4LO.

They handle REAL well for having solid axles. Understeer a bit but give it some good pedal and it will turn in a corner. They are also super light. The 4.0 engine is super reliable and they use a Toyota automatic transmission that was used on vehiclesthat weighed twice as much and had way more power. They DO overheat. I rode with a guy that rocked it in mud (foot to floor forward to reverse ) for 20 minutes straght. We stopped when the coolant gauge pegged and it stalled, we could smell transmission fluid burning. But ... 5 years later it's still on the road running fine. Just install a cooler

The limited slip isn't as necessary as you think. They articulate well enough that you won't end up with the wheels off the ground like with independent suspension.

They are a cult vehicle for sure. It doesn't ,a tree what you are looking for ... someone is going to suggest a cherokee.
I love them. I am waiting to buy another stock one and not modify it. My current jeep has been through a lot ... totaled when new. I am not nice to it off road, it has been jumped numerous times and I've had it on its side once (no damage)
 
I loved my 2 door, 5 speed AX-15, 1996 XJ with locking rear. Great truck. Bullet proof reliability. The only weak points that I see with them is the sheet metal, rockers and floor pans rust through fast, and rear leafs are weak.
Great motor, good transmissions from Aisin, great transfer cases, solid differentials, Dana or corporate.
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
When I see comments like these, I have to ask -- can anyone here objectively explain Jeep Cherokee love?


20sf5le.jpg
 
I thought a wonderful really incredible SUV for the late 1980's when it got the 4.0. It definitely is way long in the tooth in design after 1995.
 
When it was introduced, it was groundbreaking. Light with a tractor motor and decent off road capability. For that generation, that size was normal. I always thought its on road manners were fine for what it was. It was also very maneuverable. My wife loved driving ours for that fact.

At the end of its run, it had been passed by. The fact that an 18 year old design still sold like it did was telling that they had a lot right!

After that, its a Jeep thing...
 
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
When it was introduced, it was groundbreaking. Light with a tractor motor and decent off road capability. For that generation, that size was normal. I always thought its on road manners were fine for what it was. It was also very maneuverable. My wife loved driving ours for that fact.

At the end of its run, it had been passed by. The fact that an 18 year old design still sold like it did was telling that they had a lot right!

After that, its a Jeep thing...


When the 4.0 was introduced, it was quicker to 60 than some "performance" cars. They were a strong seller right up until they were discontinued.

Still made in China, though!
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam

If you use it as a daily driver:
Tiny doors limit access, with rear doors even worse
Abysmal rear seat comfort/space
Poor road manners
Saggy seats
Overall small cabin
Limited cargo capacity with spare tire

If you start to work it hard (towing, off-road):
Dana 30/35 combo can't take abuse
Most have no limited slip (and no electronic help), so traction is rather limited
AW4 overheats when pushed


You seem to be making a lot of assumptions about why someone would want one and how they would use it. Your complaints are pretty general as well...sounds like you're describing almost every other smaller SUV from the same era.

FWIW, I still know a rural mail carrier who uses one of these. Perhaps he got it just because it says Jeep? If so, who cares? It's working for him.

Quote:
This is limited to stock vehicles, not those that have been modified.


The ability to cheaply and easily modify these is exactly why a lot of people buy them. That is one of their selling points. You can't just order up off the shelf stuff and make a trail rig out of a CRV or Rav4.
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Mechanically, you're not going to wear out one of those.

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
No big deal...mileage on those really doesn't mean much.


When I see comments like these, I have to ask -- can anyone here objectively explain Jeep Cherokee love? This is limited to stock vehicles, not those that have been modified.

If you use it as a daily driver:
Tiny doors limit access, with rear doors even worse
Abysmal rear seat comfort/space
Poor road manners
Saggy seats
Overall small cabin
Limited cargo capacity with spare tire


The 2-doors have plenty of access, and I don't care about the back because I do not sit there.
Road manners aren't bad at all.
Ditto for the seats. (My 97 seats were very good, actually.)
A bit cramped, yes...it's a small vehicle. (It has about the same footprint as a PT Cruiser.) Like all Jeeps before the Liberty, it was designed for off-pavement ability first, and the design reflects that.

Quote:
If you start to work it hard (towing, off-road):
Dana 30/35 combo can't take abuse
Most have no limited slip (and no electronic help), so traction is rather limited
AW4 overheats when pushed


Many (including mine) were built with the 8.25".
Traction was fine...just pull the lever.
smile.gif

A trans cooler is about $60.

Quote:
It seems that people just want a Jeep...if there was any other brand name on the vehicle, it wouldn't get nearly the same attention.


They run forever. Mine had 220K, my wife sadly retired hers (body cracking) with 523,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: caravanmike
i thought 95% of them had the corporate 8.25 in the rear? excellent rear axle! at least the 99 i owned for 10 years did. one of the most reliable vehicles i owned.


Some did...most early XJ's and all with ABS got the Dana 35.
 
We had a 1996 Cherokee Sport for 10 years. It was a decent enough vehicle and served us well, but I never considered it anything "special". It went 200,000 trouble free miles, but when we sold it many things were on borrowed time and it was going to need several hundred dollars worth of work to continue to be reliable.

It served our needs well when we had it, but I wouldn't want another one.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top